Mosquito Explosion Foreseen Conditions Ripe For Weekend Bzzz

The weekend`s heavy rains combined with the warm temperatures that followed have created ideal conditions for mosquito breeding and could signal an early start to the biting season.

``We`re going to see some kind of mosquito crop, but I don`t think we`ll see it until the end of the week,`` said Joe Marhefka, Broward County`s mosquito control director.

Officials say they are bracing for what could be the season`s first bumper crop of biting mosquitos and for the phone calls from residents itching to end it.

To head off the complaints, crews in Broward and Palm Beach counties have been out in force this week spraying the prime breeding grounds.

``As soon as the rains fell, we got out there,`` Marhefka said. ``Hopefully we put a dent in this mosquito population.``

But it may be an uphill battle.

``Our inspectors are finding larvae everywhere,`` said Ed Bradford, a biologist with Palm Beach County mosquito control. ``Along with the warm weather, that means that a lot of eggs are going to be hatching out.``

Bradford said that residents will not start seeing the increase in the mosquito population until the weekend because it takes between five and 10 days for the eggs to hatch.

Warm weather, Marhefka said, can speed the process.

Bradford said that the unusual weather has sparked an early start to the mosquito season, which usually doesn`t begin until late April or early May.

``What makes this year unusual is the high rainfall. We generally don`t have the winter rainfall that we had this year,`` he said. ``In general, the season doesn`t usually start this early,``

Marhefka said the high winds that followed heavy rainfall earlier this month may have scattered hatching mosquitos and kept populations down.

Official say that residents can help by dumping standing water around their homes.

Also Marhefka suggests that residents who are going to be outside during the evening hours use repellent once the mosquitos start hatching.

``And when the mosquitos do emerge, and when people start seeing them, they can always call us,`` he said.